Win a Date with Richard Castle
by Natalie Elizabeth
Summary: To win a date with Richard Castle tell us in a 100 words or less tell us why you want to meet this award-winning author? It was a silly competition that Beckett didn't need to enter,yet why was she staring at the entry form only minutes before the competition closed? Set mid Season 4
1. Chapter 1

**Hey so I am back with another amazing tale. Well maybe not amazing, that will really depend on all of you. Hope you like this new short tale I have spun. Enjoy**

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_Set Mid Season 4_

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Win a Date with Richard Castle

By

Natalie Elizabeth

Detective Kate Beckett knew she was in trouble when the phone records she was going over started to blur. She was tired and she was tired of the case. No leads, no suspects. The only thing they had plenty of, was nothing. Sitting back from the desk in the conference room, Beckett closed her eyes and rolled her head. She let out a moan when she heard the joints in her neck crack. They had all been sitting at the desk for far too long. What she needed was food and sleep, but not necessarily in that order.

When the delicious smell of coffee drifted into her nostrils, she opened her eyes. A fresh steaming cup of coffee was sitting in front of her, as if by magic. A smile broke out on her face as she turned to look at the magician.

"Thanks, Castle."

"No problem," he told her as he took the seat next to her, his own coffee in his hands. "Anything?" he asked, leaning forward, taking a look at the papers she had just been reading.

Beckett shook her head before she picked up her coffee and drank deeply. The hot liquid slid down her throat and immediately filled her body with a sense of warmth. Closing her eyes, she revelled in the feeling. To some, coffee made them jumpy. Not her. It was like a warm, cuddly blanket on a cold day.

"You're a savior, Castle."

She opened her eyes to see him smiling at her.

"Well yeah, but I don't like to brag."

Beckett scoffed as she rolled her eyes.

"Since when?"

Castle chuckled. "So, Beckett, it's late. We've barely eaten all day, I was wondering..."

"Yo, Castle. Didn't realise you were so hard up for a date," Esposito Smirked as he walked into the conference room.

"Yeah, Castle. If you're desperate, Jenny has more than one cousin dying to date you," Ryan raised his brows at the writer.

Beckett faltered. Castle dating! Since when? Had Castle already dated one of Jenny's cousins? How many were there? Surely her team wouldn't do that to her. Would they? Not that they knew of her feelings, well maybe they did. It's not like she had come right out and said anything, but still...They were her team, her back up.

"Do I know what you're talking about?" Castle asked the two male detectives.

Esposito wiggled his eyebrows at him. "Win a date with Richard Castle?"

Beckett sighed with relief. So that was what all this was about? That silly competition. Castle didn't seem as relieved as she was. He placed his hand over his eyes and groaned.

"It was my publicist's idea. It's not a date really, if you read the fine print." Castle removed his hand. "Wait, how do you know about it, Esposito? That offer only went out to New York subscribers of my fan site." Castle's face lit up with excitement. "Are you one of my fans, Espo? Oh, are you Hot4Ricky22 or BadAssBoy?"

"Hell no," Esposito scoffed at the writer. "A new, hot chica in robbery was talking about it."

Castle nodded but raised a brow at him, wanting to stir up the detective. "Sure, Espo. Just letting you know, tonight is the last night to send your entry in. Remember, the entry has to be 100 words or less, why you want to meet me."

Esposito just shook his head and took a seat, grabbing some abandoned papers.

"I spend all day with you. Why would I want to spend my free time with you too?"

Castle bristled proudly. "Just saying, Espo. If you do miss out though, we're offering another competition to residents all across the US. You receive autographed copies of all the Nikki Heat novels, plus a framed picture of me too." Castle then gave the detective a wink.

"Delusional, dude. Delusional," Esposito continued to look at the papers, ignoring the ego-centric writer.

"Seriously, Castle, what's going on? You not making enough money?" Ryan asked with a smirk.

Castle sighed. "Apparently at my book signing for Heat Rises, a lot of fans complained about my lack of enthusiasm."

Beckett watched as Castle slid his eyes towards her then quickly averted his gaze. Biting her lip, Beckett remembered the signing she had turned up to. His fans were right. He seemed sad and despondent. Not his usual 'hi how are you, where would you like me to sign it'. When she got there, she saw he was signing the covers in the black section. There was a good chance most of his readers could barley even see his signature.

"My publicist thought it would be a good idea to give back to the fans. One lucky fan gets to spend a few hours with me. Hang out, ask a few questions, maybe take a few photos. It is most definitely not a date though"

Beckett knew Castles publicist was right. It would be good for his reputation. So why did Beckett not like it so much. She sighed, probably because the lucky fan would be female. They would probably spend the entire time fawning over him. Maybe she could...

"Beckett."

Beckett looked up as Captain Gates walked into the conference room.

"We any closer to identifying a suspect?" Gates asked crossing her arms over her chest.

Beckett picked up the abandoned papers. "No, sir. The victim only called her sister and mother and that's all. Nothing unusual or suspicious."

Gates sighed. "Then what are you still doing here? I said figure it out by 10 pm, or get out of here and return fresh tomorrow. I don't need my detectives making mistakes because they don't know when to quit. "

Beckett opened her mouth to argue, but Gates silenced her with a pointed finger before leaving the room. Looking around at her team, she shrugged before standing up and clearing the papers. There was no point in arguing with the boss, and besides, she was tired.

"You heard the boss. Time to go home, boys." Beckett then quickly covered her mouth when a yawn escaped. "Sorry, guys," she said rather embarrassed. Yawning was a sign of being tired. She didn't want to show a sign of weakness in front of them.

"Head home, Beckett," Ryan told her. "Esposito and I got this."

Beckett looked at her team, both men nodding at her. Shrugging, she grabbed her jacket. Normally she was the last one out. Ryan and Esposito were usually falling over themselves trying to get out the door quicker. It was a rare offer and she was going to take it.

"Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

Beckett made it home in record time and quickly set about making herself a quick snack. Castle had been right; they had barely eaten all day. If it hadn't been for Castle acting like her personal barista, making her coffee throughout the day, she doubted she would have made it. Yet now that she was home she didn't feel sleepy. Why was it, when you were at work, trying to work, you were tired. Yet once you got home and were able to sleep you weren't sleepy. What was worse was that she did feel tired, but it seemed she was even too tired to sleep. Was that even possible?

Grabbing a glass of wine and her plate of crackers and cheese, Beckett made her way to her bedroom. Placing her food and drink on the bedside table, Beckett leaned over and turned on her laptop. Maybe reading some lame emails would lull her to sleep.

While the machine booted up, Beckett changed into her pyjamas and then climbed between her cold sheets. Closing her eyes, she snuggled against the pillows for a few seconds, hoping that once she was there, sleep would come.

Nope.

Her eyes flashed open and she reached for her wine, hoping the liquid would give a drowsy effect. Using her right hand, Beckett moved her finger over the touch pad on her laptop to close off all the little, annoying alerts that popped up at startup. She really needed to get that looked at.

"No, Norton, I do not want to renew my subscription," she told her computer, clicking the red x on another window. "I have Kaspersky now. You got a problem with that, talk to Ryan."

Castle had of course offered to come over and look at her computer, but there was no way she was letting him near her machine. Clicking onto the internet icon, Beckett waited for her home page to load. Once there, she typed in the address for her email and proceeded to put in her user name and password. Yes, it was her own computer, and no one else used it, but you just never know.

Beckett was delighted to see 14 emails and none of them junk. Great, 14 emails to keep her occupied for a while, and hopefully they would lull her to sleep. Picking up a cracker and cheese, she bit into it greedily as she watched as pictures from an email Esposito had sent her loaded. It looked like there was a new lot of Wal Martians to look at. Seriously, didn't these people own mirrors? Not only that, but a good portion were looking directly at the camera. Didn't they think it was weird someone was taking their photo?

Taking a gulp of wine as she scrolled down the email, Beckett nearly spewed it out when she spotted the big, burly man wearing a hot pink thong. She would never get enough of seeing photos of what people wore at Wal Mart. After sending it off to her father, who enjoyed a good laugh, Beckett continued to go over the rest of her emails. The mind boggled at Ryan sending her Irish jokes and the sex survey from Lanie was, well, interesting to say the least. There were a few things she would need to speak to Lanie about.

Before long the emails were done and her food had dwindled, yet the Sandman still hadn't arrived. Placing the empty plate on the night stand, Beckett continued to sip the last of her wine. She scanned over the emails that still sat in her inbox despite being read. Her eyes flicked to one email in particular.

_Win a date with Richard Castle!_

She should have deleted it the moment she got it. Every time she saw the subject line her stomach lurched. Beckett put down the glass of wine even though there was still a sip left.

The email had arrived over two weeks ago, much to her dismay. Her first thought had been 'So what? Castle was dating. What was the big deal?' Except it had been a big deal. It had taken a whole day for her to open the email. She wished she had done it sooner as her fears would have been quelled. It wasn't a date as such, more of a get together. The terms and conditions of entry clearly stated it was open to both men and women and was not technically a date. Not that she had clicked on the entry form, then clicked on the 'Terms and Conditions' link, and then read the entire document or anything.

There was absolutely no reason why her finger had directed the arrow over the email. Nor was there any reason for her to read the email again. It's not like she needed to win a date with him, she saw him daily. Beckett's finger moved back and forth over the touch pad before she finally tapped on the email. The red and black newsletter popped up on the screen in front of her.

_Hi, Richard Castle fans. _

_Ever wanted to meet your favourite writer? Talk to him? Get his autograph? _

_One lucky reader will have the chance to do just that. _

_All you have to do is tell us in 100 words or less why you want to meet this award-winning author? _

_Is it simply because he is your favourite? Has he inspired you to write your own novel? Maybe you just want to get inside his head._

_Whatever the reason, write and tell us. You never know, your entry could be picked as our winner._

_So come on, all you fans out there, get writing._

Beckett glanced at the corner of her screen and checked the time. 11:20 pm. She still had 40 minutes to enter the competition. Not that she needed to enter the competition. If she picked up her phone right now and asked him to meet her at the 24 hours cafe around the corner, he would be there.

She took a deep breath, but what if she had never met the man. What would she have done if she had received this email before she had met him? Would she have entered? Hell yes. Her mind's quick answer to her question had Beckett hitting the entry button.

Oh why not.

It's not like the account was in her real name anyway. Kathy Kett was her alter ego. Not exactly original, but it went along great with the whole superhero-alliteration thing. Beckett typed in her fake name in the place provided along with her email address. She then looked at the blank box underneath. Her entry had to go there. Her reason. Why did she want to meet this man? Who knew staring at a blank page would be so scary? She would have to ask Castle one day if he felt the same fear. Or she could write that as her entry. As her fingers moved to the keyboard, she stopped. No that was just silly; she was entering this thing for a reason. If this were five years ago why would she want to meet the author?

She closed her eyes and conjured up her life 5 years ago. The images weren't pretty, but they were enlightening. Her mind then went into fast-forward mode from then until now. Beckett opened her eyes and allowed her fingers to approach the keyboard once more. This time they only paused for a few seconds before they went rampant over the keys. When at first she had nothing, now she had too much to write. She saw the characters down at the bottom of the screen get eaten up but she couldn't stop. The 100-word limit was way too short. Beckett looked over her entry and kept the most important lines.

100 words exactly.

She looked over her entry. It was perfect. It expressed exactly the way she felt when she read his books.

Her finger moved over the touch pad and she hit the send button.

Dread suddenly filled her. What have I done?

* * *

Richard Castle rolled over in bed and immediately grabbed his phone. He used to hate being controlled by his phone; now he liked it. He looked at the screen and sighed. No missed calls from Beckett, which means he had no reason to go into the precinct. No reason other than he wanted to see one detective in particular. And that one detective wasn't Esposito.

He had been so close to asking her for a date last night. Well not a date exactly, but dinner. Well it was going to be a 'hey lets grab some food' invite. It was a start though. Except he never really got a start. Esposito had interrupted him again. What was with that guy and his timing? He swore he did it on purpose sometimes. Then of course Ryan had come along. Then to top it off, Gates. Yes, he could have gone after Beckett when she left, scurrying after her like he had so many times. But she seemed so intent on going home. That was a rare occurrence so he let it go.

Chicken.

Great, he was arguing with himself.

How hard was it to ask someone out on a date?

'Beckett,'

Castle frowned. Beckett what? It was one thing to go out for drinks with the guys or Remy's after a hard case. A date. A date was different. A date with Beckett would be different. He couldn't just make reservations at some fancy restaurant. Beckett wouldn't be impressed by that. Beckett didn't need to be impressed. She wasn't like any other woman he had dated, which was why he wanted to date her.

Castle ran his hand over his face. He wanted to date her but he was getting nowhere lying in his bed.

He sleepily made his way into his kitchen. He needed coffee. Seeing his daughter already sitting at the counter, he sidled up next to her.

"School work, this early in the morning?" he asked, seeing his daughter pouring over several pages. "I swear the stork dropped off the wrong child."

Alexis shook her head at her father. "No, these are the last of the entries for your date, Dad."

Castle groaned.

"Richard," his mother complained, breezing into the room. "Why are you going through all the entries? Just let them pick someone and be done with it."

Castle stole some papers from the bottom of his daughter's pile and pulled them in front of himself. "I am not going through all of them, Mother. These are ones they have already short-listed for me."

He really needed to go over them. Yesterday was the last day for people to enter the competition. The way he was going he would be spending time with some flake.

Martha poured two cups of coffee and then turned and handed one to her son.

"Still, does it really matter who your date is?"

"It's not a date," he told his mother sternly as he scrunched up the entry he was reading. Yet another writer he had inspired. The trouble was their entry wasn't very inspiring. He gratefully accepted his coffee; he definitely needed it. Were all his fans this prosaic?

Alexis looked up from the latest entry. "We don't want him getting some woman who thinks it's a real date. Like this one" Alexis told her grandmother. "_I want to meet the man so he can see how fabulous I am."_ Alexis scrunched up the entry and threw it in the direction of the one her father had already rejected.

Martha leaned forward and plucked up one of the sheets of paper_. I want to meet him because he is the best writer in the whole world._ Martha shrugged; maybe her son and granddaughter were right. Did he really need some woman inflating his ego even further? She picked up another entry and read it over. This one wanted to meet him so she could understand what inspired him to write such great novels. It was a reasonable request.

"Well, darling, can't you just pick one like this? It's not too bad."

She held out the entry to her son. When he didn't immediately take if from her, she waved it in his face. He held up his hand, not to take the item, but to wave it off.

"You ok Dad?" Alexis asked, seeing her father's eyes practically glued to the piece of paper in front of him.

"This one," he said still looking down at the paper in his hands.

When he looked up, both Martha and Alexis were surprised by his almost awed expression.

"Are you sure, Dad? So far you have only picked entries for runner-up prizes. All the rest you have rejected."

Castle nodded. "That's because I have been waiting for this entry. Waiting for someone worthwhile to meet. It's not just about a fan meeting me; it's about me meeting them. I want to meet this fan," he said, shaking the paper in his hand.

Maratha frowned at her son as she picked up another entry. "Are you sure?" the older woman asked. "This one lists her attributes as being 38-25-34."

Castle leaned forward and snatched the page from his mother and did his best to scrunch it up with one hand. He threw it in the same direction as the other failed entries.

"This is the one. I have to meet this person," he said sternly.

"What does it say?" Alexis leaned over to glance at the entry that had her father so worked up but he pulled the page closer to himself.

"I'll read it to you," he told his daughter.

Castle looked down at the page before him. At the words that had sent him spiralling. When he agreed to the competition he had made it clear; it was to be more than just a publicity stunt. He didn't want photos of him having a candle-lit dinner with a fan splashed across the pages of some glossy magazine. It was meant to be a one-on-one encounter, a personal meeting. He wanted to get inside the head of one of his readers. To see the type of people who read his work. The winner would then have a chance to tell their story of how the date went and the article would get published in his monthly newsletter. Based on some of the entries, he was surprised some of them could read, let alone string along a decent conversation. Not this entry, this entry was different. This entry was inspiring. Just the thing he needed to hear in order to get him working on his next novel.

"Can the dramatics, kiddo. Will you read it already?" Martha shook her head at her son. He didn't get that from her, that was for sure.

Castle looked up at his mother, surprised. She was telling him to can the dramatics? He cleared his throat and flicked the paper a few times before he was finally ready to read the words out loud.

"_I want to meet Richard Castle, so I can tell him to his face, how he saved my life! _

_He may not wear red shorts and run down the beach in slow motion, but he stopped me from drowning._

_He may not wear a big black jacket and yellow hat, but he saved me from a fiery hell._

_He may not wear a white coat and stethoscope, but he revived me._

_He may not wear a cape and spandex underwear, but when I was falling, he caught me._

_He stopped me from simply existing. Because of him, I started living. "_

Castle continued to look at the words on the page. Why had they made it 100 words or less. He needed to know more. He wanted to know more. One thing was for sure; he needed to meet this person. Getting up from his chair, he quickly exited the room.

"Dad, where are you going? You haven't finished your coffee."

Castle waved off his daughter. He no longer needed caffeine, he was already jittery enough. He needed to meet this person, and he wanted it to happen as soon as possible. Paula wouldn't be happy that he was calling her so early in the morning, but he didn't care. He needed this person to know that he had picked them as the winner. He looked over the page in front of him and saw the entrant's name at the top. He needed to meet Kathy Kett.

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**_Big Thank you to LewisInNC for being the Beta on this chapter. You did a fantastic job thank you so much._**

**_So what did you think of this chapter? There will only be 3 so review while you can. : )_**


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks again to **LewisInNC**for your fantastic job editing this chapter. Also to **LittleLizzieZentara** who at times gives up her own writing time to Skype with me so we can discuss story lines. You both have helped this story be what it is.

Also thanks to all of you who have read, reviewed and alerted. The response has been amazing. I cant get over it. I posted it at liek 3 am my time and woke up to an inbox with like 150 fan fiction emails. I am still getting more days after. Simply amazing. Thank you

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Win a Date with Richard Castle

By

Natalie Elizabeth

Kate Beckett placed her laptop on her kitchen table and turned it on. It was 7 a.m. and she had yet to be called in. It had been a rare slow day yesterday, with no leads on the case. Castle had texted her to ask if there were any new leads. When she had texted back _no_, he had replied that he was staying at home. He had been hit with inspiration and he needed to write. So she had voyaged on yesterday without her sidekick and without her constant flow of coffee. She hated to admit it, but she had been bored.

There was no reason to rush this morning, so she decided to enjoy a leisurely breakfast before going in at 9. Heading towards her fridge, Beckett opened it and then quickly closed it again with dismay. That's right, she was supposed to have gone shopping for food and hadn't. Not to worry, this happened on more than one occasion and she had measures in place. Opening up her cupboard, Beckett pulled out one of the many boxes of cereal. It lasted for ages and was a great midnight snack, so she often had no less than 5 boxes in her cupboard. Next to the cereal sat endless cartons of powdered milk that would survive an apocalypse. Taking these items to her counter, Beckett turned on her coffee machine. Coffee and cereal wouldn't be as good as the coffee and bear claw Castle brought her, but if he was still writing, then he wouldn't be coming in.

While the coffee brewed, Beckett approached her laptop and got rid of all the pesky alerts before logging into her email. Might as well kill two birds with one stone. She was never one to just sit idly while eating; she always had to be doing something else. Reading, watching TV, anything. Seeing eight emails, Beckett smiled—a good breakfast accompaniment. Going back to the kitchen, Beckett poured her cereal into the bowl, followed by the milk, before grabbing her coffee and settling in.

As she shovelled a spoonful of cereal into her mouth, Beckett noticed she had a new email from the Castle fan site. Wait, did that say _congratulations_? Normally one to methodically go through her emails as she received them, Beckett skipped all the others and clicked on the one from the fan site.

_Dear Kathy, we are pleased to announce you are the winner of the Win a Date with Richard Castle competition._

Beckett's mouth dropped open and milk dribbled out. Quickly depositing her bowl on the table, Beckett swiped at her mouth, cleaning up her mess.

Oh no. Oh crap.

She had won. She had actually won. It had to be a joke, surely. Somehow Castle had found out her alias. No, that wasn't possible. No one knew her alias. Then how? How could she have won? There had to have been better responses. She read over the email and quickly picked up her phone. There was a number she had to call in order for her to collect her prize.

Dialling the number, she waited nervously for the person to pick up.

"Hello, this is Paula."

Beckett bit her lip. "Hi this is Kate. Err Kathy Kett," she corrected herself.

"Hi, congratulations on winning. Rick is really excited to meet you. We'll just need to go over a few formalities before we organize a day when you're both free."

Beckett winced.

"Listen. I don't want my prize."

"Excuse me?" The woman on the phone asked.

Beckett cringed. "I entered on a whim; I didn't think I would win."

"Well nobody ever does. But you have won and it's a great prize. You don't need to be worried about meeting Rick. He is really sweet and down-to-earth. You will be fine with Rick."

Oh, Beckett definitely knew that. Any fan would be lucky to meet him. She had to get herself out of this situation fast.

"I understand that, but I really think you should award the prize to someone else."

"Well we've sent out emails to all the runners-up already and announced the winners on our website."

Oh crap, she was really deep in it now. That's what she got for not checking her email for 24 hours. Maybe if she had, she could have averted this disaster. If Paula wouldn't take no for an answer, she had to come up with a reason they couldn't award the prize to her.

"My name isn't really Kathy."

"Oh, that's fine. We do ask for real names but a lot of people use aliases. That's fine. We will ask you to come in with your ID and a copy of the email so we can verify who you really are."

Beckett bit her lip. Well what was to stop her from printing off the email and giving it to someone else? She really should speak to Castle about his lack of security. Did they even do a police background check? Yet she couldn't talk to him about it. Maybe she could just bring it up casually. The point was she really needed to get out of this. Maybe it was time for the truth. If this was a publicity stunt, surely Paula would understand and maybe send in a ringer.

"You see, my real name is Kate Beckett."

She waited for Paula to respond.

"Right. Kate Beckett. Let me just write that down."

Beckett shook her head. Okay, so maybe they didn't know who she was right off the bat.

"No, I am Detective Kate Beckett."

"Detective—wait, like Rick's muse?" the woman asked.

Beckett sighed. God, she hated being called that.

"As in, I am Rick's muse."

"Wait, you are the real Kate Beckett. Not just someone using that name as a login."

Beckett frowned. Did people really do that?

"Yes, I am real."

"I don't get it. Why did you enter the competition? You see him, like, every day. I try my hardest for him not to see you, so he can go and do more publicity."

Beckett rubbed her hand over her face.

"I entered late at night when I was tired. I wasn't really thinking. I just did it."

"So your entry was a joke. You just made it up."

Beckett sat up straight. "No. No, I meant the words. I really am a fan of his work. I was before I met him. I wrote my entry as if I had never met him. I wrote what I have never been able to say to him. Which is why I can't meet him? It wouldn't be fair to his other fans either."

"Well Rick will be disappointed. He did pick the entry."

Becket scoffed. Yeah, like she was supposed to think Castle really went through all the entries.

"Look, I just think it would be best if you just picked someone else, okay."

Beckett heard the woman sigh. "Why don't you think it over for a few days, okay? I'll talk to Rick, but he isn't going to like it. I'll email you at the end of the week if I don't hear back from you, okay?"

Beckett sighed. She wouldn't change her mind, but she would placate the woman.

"Fine. Okay."

Beckett hung up her phone and then looked at the soggy plate of cereal in front of her. She suddenly wasn't hungry. Looking at the clock on her computer, Beckett sighed once again. She didn't have to be into work for a while but she figured she would head in anyway. There was always paperwork to do—if not hers, then Ryan's and Esposito's.

* * *

Sitting at her desk, Beckett looked up when she heard the ping of the elevator. She frowned when she saw her partner stride out. Why was Castle here? She hadn't called him, even though she had wanted to. The man walked through the precinct, his head down, looking at the floor. What was going on? He didn't look up when he walked over to her desk; simply flopped down in his chair. He then did something he had never done before. He stayed silent.

"Hey, Castle, is everything ok?"

He looked up at her with a glum look on his face.

"Are Martha and Alexis okay?" Beckett asked, now suddenly concerned.

He crossed his arms over his chest and simply nodded at her. His eyes held so much sadness, and Beckett felt as if her heart would break. Something was very wrong with her partner.

"Why don't I make you a coffee," Beckett offered. That always made her smile; maybe it would work for Castle.

The corner of his mouth twitched into what Beckett thought was the most pathetic attempt at a smile she had ever seen. Something was definitely up with her partner. Getting up from her chair, she lightly patted Castle on the shoulder to reassure him that everything would be okay. At least she hoped it would be.

Walking over to the break room, she quickly made them both a coffee. She added a few extra teaspoons of sugar to Castle's; he looked like he needed the pick-me-up. As she exited the room, she saw Ryan and Esposito standing together, looking at Castle. Upon seeing her, Esposito gave her that head-nodding thing that was supposed to be considered a hello.

"What's up with Castle?" Esposito inquired.

"Yeah, you take away his phone or something?" Ryan asked.

Beckett shook her head. "I don't know. He just came in and sat down without saying a word."

"You're kidding," Esposito said in disbelief. "Normally we can't get that dude to shut up."

Beckett walked over to her desk and deposited Castle's coffee in front of him. He gave it another one of his pathetic smiles.

"Thanks."

He took his coffee and looked into it as if it held the world's answers.

"Am I annoying?"

Beckett looked at Castle in surprise. Wow, that was a loaded question.

"Yeah, dude, you are." Esposito informed Castle, coming up to stand on the other side of Beckett's desk.

Beckett picked up a pen and threw it at Esposito. It wasn't like Castle to ask questions like that. Something must be wrong—really wrong.

"Castle? Why would you think you're annoying?" Beckett said calmly.

"Yeah, Castle, what's wrong?" Ryan asked coming over to join in on the conversation.

Castle put down his coffee and then reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a piece of folded paper.

"The winner doesn't want to meet me."

Ryan frowned at Castle. "What winner?"

Castle sighed as he unwrapped the paper. "Of the Win a Date with Richard Castle competition."

Beckett's breath caught in her throat. Oh, God, no. Castle was upset because of her. She had only called the woman two hours ago, and already, Castle knew. Except, obviously he didn't know, because he had said _the winner_. Beckett looked at him. Was he faking his reaction? He didn't seem to be. Yes, his mother was an actor, but Beckett had always been able to tell when he was lying.

Esposito shrugged. "So get them to choose another entry. What's the big deal?"

Castle shook his head. "I chose the winner."

Beckett looked at him, shocked. "You chose the winner?" she asked in disbelief. Paula told her he had, but she hadn't believed her. When did he have the time to go through all the entries? They had been working on cases for the last two weeks. Surely there had been thousands of entries.

Castle nodded, looking at the paper in his hands.

"Dude, you went through every entry? That's insane. Unless of course you got, like, five," Esposito joked.

Castle shook his head. "I couldn't go through all of them. Paula got someone else to go though them and send the top twenty from each day. Alexis would then print them up, and then we both would go over them. I picked the ones I liked from that. There were plenty of runners-up but none came close to winning until the last day." Castle then held up the paper in his hand. "Until I got this one."

Beckett gulped. Castle had her entry in his hand. He carried it around in his pocket. Esposito went to grab for the page, but Castle pulled it back quickly.

"Come on, Castle," Ryan complained. "Let us see the entry. What makes it so special?"

Castle folded the page back up and put it in his pocket.

"No. The entry was for me, and I don't want to violate Kathy's privacy."

Esposito smiled knowingly. "Oh, so the winner is a woman."

Castle frowned and shook his head. "It's not like that. She wrote a very heartfelt response. I made a difference in her life. I've had people tell me that I inspired them to write, but this was different. She was going through something, and I helped somehow. I wanted to meet her to make sure she was okay now. To see if there is anything more I can do to help her. But she doesn't want to meet me."

"Sounds like a freak to me," Esposito told Castle as he walked back to his desk.

"Yeah, Castle," Ryan told him. "Why would someone enter and then not want to meet you. Something's gotta be up with that. Want us to do a background check on her?"

"Ryan, you know we can get in trouble for that?" Beckett scolded the younger detective. The last thing Beckett needed was Ryan trying to find out who Kathy Kett was. Or wasn't.

Ryan shrugged and headed back to his desk. He had a huge pile of paperwork on his desk that Beckett never did get around to starting.

"Why wouldn't she want to meet me?" Castle asked Beckett.

Beckett shrugged, trying to keep her emotions in check. "Maybe she's shy?"

Castle took the paper out of his pocket again and looked over the words.

"But she says she wants to tell me to my face, how I saved her life. Why would she say that if she didn't mean it? I don't understand."

Beckett sighed. Why oh why had she entered the competition? "Maybe she didn't think she would win. Or that you would really read it. Maybe she just wanted to send her thoughts out into the universe. Why is it so important to you to meet her?"

Castle shrugged. "I helped her. I helped somebody."

"You help plenty of people Castle. I know you donate to charities. And think about all the help you give us solving crimes."

Castle shook his head. "This is different. Something is different about this entry. I helped this person through something tragic. I did it by putting words on a page. Somehow, what I wrote helped her. It was more to her than a way to kill a few hours, a little light entertainment. It wasn't just pulp fiction to her. Just knowing that makes me feel like all those years writing achieved more than just making me famous. I made a difference. I guess I never really thought about it like that before. I want to meet her to say 'Thank you, too. Thanks for giving all those years some meaning.'"

Castle looked over the words.

_He revived me_

Kathy had been dying, yet somehow he brought her back from that. Or at least he thought he did. Maybe this was just some hoax–just some poetry studentstringing words together for fun. Castle folded the paper up again and placed it back in his pocket.

"Maybe I'm just being silly. I guess if she doesn't want to meet me then there isn't much I can do. So, do we have any leads?"

Beckett stared at Castle in shock. He thought all the years of writing were a waste. He was wrong—so very wrong. Her life had been a desolate wasteland until his books had entered her life. She still didn't know what it was about his books, but they had simply captured her; gave her something to look forward to—something to live for. His next book; the knowledge of his next public appearance; they gave her a reason to keep on going. When she had so much pain and misery in her life, his books brought her happiness. Now, because she was too afraid to admit the truth to her partner, her friend, her hero, she was causing him pain.

"Castle, why don't you go home? We don't have any new leads, and your mind wouldn't be on it anyway."

Castle's shoulders shrunk in despair. "You're probably right. Sorry for dumping this on you."

Castle got up and Beckett joined him. She followed him to the elevator.

"Castle, I promise you. It will get better. You never know, she might change her mind."

Castle sighed. "Yeah, I guess. Thanks, Beckett."

As the doors closed, Beckett saw Gates walk past.

"Sir, have you got a minute."

Captain Gates stopped and addressed the detective in front of her.

"What is it?"

Beckett was nervous about asking Gates for a favor. "I know it's last minute, sir, but I was wondering if I could take a personal day."

Gates raised her brows. According to the detective's records, she rarely took personal days.

"Today?"

Beckett bit her lip. "Today would be better, but any of the next few days would be okay too."

Gates sighed. "You are in the middle of a case."

Beckett nodded. "We are, but so far we have nothing, and no leads."

"So you are giving up?"

Beckett bit her lip as she remembered her life before Castle's books had come along. She had been about to give up on life but hadn't. Castle had given up on the winner but she hadn't.

"No, and that's why I'd like the day off. There's something else that needs my attention. Something I am not willing to give up on. Esposito can take the lead on this case and I'll keep my phone on in case I'm needed."

"Can it wait?"

Beckett took a deep breath. "I'd rather it didn't."

Gates stared at the detective before throwing her hands up. "Fine, you can have today off, but don't make this a habit."

Beckett smiled. "Thanks."

* * *

_Please review to help me get through this upcoming Castle two part-er. ahhhhhh Save ME!_


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks as always **LewisInNC **for editing this chapter and **LittleLizzieZentara** for being a great friend

* * *

Win a Date with Richard Castle

By

Natalie Elizabeth

Castle ran a brush through his hair one last time before putting it down. At the rate he was going, he was going to be bald. He just wanted to look perfect. He glanced at the watch on his wrist.

12:30.

Good. He still had plenty of time. His date wasn't until 1 and the cafe was only a 10-minute walk. To say he was surprised when Paula had called him on his way home from the precinct, was an understatement. First the winner didn't want to meet him, and then all of a sudden, she wanted to meet him today. Not wanting her to change her mind again, Castle had simply accepted the date. Well it wasn't a date really. The fact they were meeting only a short distance from his home disturbed him a little. Paula had assured him it was all okay. The woman he was meeting wasn't some crazy psycho. Still, he was going to leave early and come at the cafe from a different direction than his home, just to be safe.

Beckett would be so proud of him. He would have to text her later to apologize for his actions earlier. Sitting at the precinct, crying over the fact that some woman didn't want to meet him, was something he would probably never live down. He had just been so upset and sad, and the precinct always made him feel better. Beckett always made him feel better. An extra-large coffee tomorrow would be on the cards too for her. Beckett wouldn't accept anything else, no matter how hard he tried to push theater tickets on her.

Turning around a few times, Castle checked himself out in the mirror. Was his outfit okay? He straightened his collar and readjusted his belt. Turing his head left to right, he examined himself one last time. Right, he was ready to go. Walking out of his room, he grabbed his phone, wallet and keys. Tapping the chest pocket on his jacket, he heard the familiar crackle of paper. He was keeping the entry close to his heart. The words this woman had sent to him affected him in a way no other words ever had before. He wondered if his words had the same effect on her. That was one of many questions he had for the woman he was about to meet. This date may go on for longer than planned if she was as talkative as he was. Not that it was a date.

Castle walked towards the door, placed his hand on the handle, and froze as he heard a knock. Oh, he loved it when things like that happened. It was like when you pulled your phone out to check if you had a text, and then you immediately got one. Twisting the handle, he opened the door with a flourish for dramatic effect and was stunned when he saw Beckett standing there.

"Beckett. Is everything okay?"

He looked over the woman standing in front of him. She had changed since he had seen her a few hours ago. Gone were the business slacks, shirt, and heels. In place of the shirt was a cream t-shirt, paired with a striped cardigan. Skinny leg jeans adorned her legs, and were those ballet flats on her feet? He couldn't remember a time when he had seen her in flat footwear. This causal-looking Beckett was quite a change from the no-nonsense work-Beckett, although this outfit was equally as stunning.

"Can I come in, Castle?"

Castle looked at the watch on his wrist. He still had a few minutes to spare.

"Ahh, sure."

Castle stepped back and allowed her to enter. It was then that he saw the backpack hanging from her shoulder.

"Going somewhere?" he asked curiously. Maybe there was a reason for her casual attire.

"Nowhere, I hope."

Castle frowned at her response. Normally he was the one who was cryptic. Her sudden appearance at his place, along with the casual attire, concerned him.

"So, what's going on?" he asked the unusually nervous-looking Detective.

Beckett looked around. "Are Martha and Alexis home?"

Castle shook his head. "No."

Beckett nodded. "Good. We need to talk."

Castle was suddenly worried. Since when did Beckett ever want to talk? He gestured for her to sit down in his lounge, and he followed, sitting opposite her. Castle watched as Beckett made herself comfortable, taking off her bag before removing a piece of paper.

"Look, Beckett, is this important? I have somewhere I need to be very soon."

Beckett took a deep breath, and Castle watched as her bottom lip trembled. She nervously handed him the piece of paper. He took it and glanced at it quickly. It was a printout of an email.

"What's this?" he asked, holding the paper out.

"Read it," she told him.

Castle glanced down at the paper once more and looked over the tiny writing.

_Dear Kathy, we are pleased to announce you are the winner of the Win a Date with Richard Castle competition._

Castle looked over the words, confused. Why did she have a copy of the email that was sent to the winner? What was going on? He looked up at Beckett for an explanation. Beckett gave him a weak smile.

"I'm Kathy," she told him, shrugging.

"Y-y-you can't be," he stammered.

Beckett's weak smile faded from her face as her head dropped.

"He stopped me from simply existing. Because of him, I started living," she recited.

Castle's mouth dropped open. Beckett had just recited the last line of the entry. How did she know what it said? There was no way she could have seen the entry earlier in the day. He had kept it close to his body, not wanting anyone else to read it. She also had the email that was sent to the winner, Kathy Kett. Castle closed his eyes. Kathy Kett, Katherine Beckett. How could he be so stupid? Some detective he made. Castle stood up and threw the email on the ground.

"Was this some prank you and the guys pulled on me? I'm surprised you got Paula to go along with it."

Castle walked away from Beckett and towards his study. He couldn't believe this. Why would they pull such an insensitive stunt on him? Okay, so gluing Ryan's mug to his desk last week had been childish, but that was different. Silly stunts were part of their friendship, but they were just that— silly. This was hurtful.

"Was Esposito going to show up to the cafe wearing a dress?" He wanted to know.

"Castle, no! It wasn't a joke."

When Castle felt her hand on his shoulder, he realized she had gotten up and followed him. He turned to look at her, fully expecting to see humor in her eyes. What he saw confused him. Her eyes were almost apologetic.

"I didn't think I would win," she told him. She stroked her hand down his arm. "I entered on a whim, Castle, but I meant everything I said."

Castle's eyes narrowed. She didn't think she would win? She had seriously entered the competition.

"After my mother died, I was drowning in misery. I just felt like I was falling and couldn't stop. I was in this fiery hell, Castle. I felt so dead inside, and I felt like there was no escape."

Beckett gave his bicep a squeeze before lowering her hand. She wrapped her arms around her body as if trying to give herself comfort.

"Then one day, I was walking through a second-hand book store, looking to buy some old textbooks, and there you were smiling up at me. You had this cheeky little grin that practically screamed, "I have a secret. Do you want to know what it is?" And I did. I really did. I wanted to know what could make someone so happy that they could smile like that. So I bought your book, despite the fact my money was for textbooks. I took the book to my local park and just sat there reading. I wasn't much of a reader before then, but I just couldn't get enough of your words. From that moment on, things started getting better. You made my life better. I don't know how. I don't know why, but you did. "

Castle's eyes roamed over Beckett's face looking for some sort of tell that what she was saying was false. He couldn't find one. The look in her eyes was earnest and sincere. What she was saying was the truth. Castle couldn't fathom that she had been reading his books for quite some time. He realized she knew of his work extensively, but assumed she had gone back and read his work, not read it as it came out. His smile! His smile had been what had drawn Beckett to his books. She wanted to know what his secret was, just as he had wanted to solve the mystery that was Beckett.

"Why didn't you say anything before?" he asked, so confused as to why she kept it a secret for so long.

Beckett shrugged. "You acted like such an ass when we first met."

Castle couldn't help the smile that broke out onto his face. "Well yeah, I was a cocky SOB, drunk on fame and fortune. What about later?"

Beckett shook her head. "It never seemed to be the right time."

Castle looked at her. "So what changed?"

Beckett scoffed. "I was tired, not thinking straight. I honestly didn't think I would win, or that you would read it. I just felt like I needed to respect what you had done for me and put my thoughts out there into the universe."

Castle shook his head. Rarely was the word _respect_ used in relation to him. There was one thing that still plagued him though.

"When you won, why didn't you want your prize?"

Beckett rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, Castle. What would you have done when you realized I had entered the competition?"

Castle opened his mouth to comment but stopped when Beckett raised her brows at him.

"Okay, so I probably would have gloated if I knew you had entered, but not after I read your entry," he told her. "Your words really spoke to me, Beckett. I had no idea it was you. All I knew was that someone went through something tragic, and I was there for them. I am glad I could be there for you, even back then." Castle ran a hand over his face. "What changed your mind about meeting me?"

A smile crept to her lips. "You did. Paula told me you picked the entry but I didn't believe her. I didn't think you would care who your date was with. When you came in today, looking so dejected because of me, I felt bad. You thought all those years of writing were a waste. The truth is, Castle, mine would have been without you. You saw Kathy's rejection of the date as a rejection of you. I couldn't let you continue thinking like that, especially when you did so much for me. After my mother died, I cried myself to sleep every night, until I fell asleep with one of your books in my arms. Your book was on my mind, not my mother."

Castle smiled. "Thank you for telling me this."

He ran a hand through his hair, then winced when he touched a raw spot.

"I wish you had told me before I brushed my head raw," he said, lightly touching his head, finding the spot he had gone a little crazy with his brush. "I guess I got a little over excited about meeting Kathy."

It was now that Beckett looked the writer up and down. Shiny black shoes, dark blue slacks, and that shimmery, light blue shirt she loved so much. He had definitely put effort into his appearance for his date with a stranger. She almost felt bad now that she hadn't dressed up and had foregone the cafe.

"Thank you for the effort. I decided against the cafe. I thought in a public place it might be easier to confront you. Then I realized this was something that I wanted to share just with you."

Castle's eyebrow quirked. "So your choice for our date was here instead."

Beckett smiled. "I thought this wasn't a real date."

Castle's eyes widened in shock. "Oh. It's—umm—not. I just meant—with the company paying and all that—we could have gone for something a bit more extravagant."

Beckett shrugged. "My prize was that I got to spend a few hours with Richard Castle. This is the way I want to spend my time with him."

"Oh really?" Castle asked, taking a step towards her.

Beckett smiled at the tone in his voice. Gone was the sullen school boy from earlier today. The angry man that had been there just moments before had disappeared. The cocky, over-confident writer was back in full force. Beckett turned and walked back over to the lounge and picked up her bag.

"Yes. So I chose here. I prefer my dates to be about fun and not about pomp and circumstance."

Castle's brows rose as he walked over to her. "I thought this wasn't a date?"

Beckett's mouth dropped open. He was right; this wasn't supposed to be a real date. She grabbed a packet of microwave popcorn out of her bag and pressed it to his chest.

"Well, I guess that depends on how much fun you can be, Castle. Now get cooking."

* * *

Alexis walked down the street towards her home. She should have been home earlier, but her friend was having boyfriend troubles. Being the good friend, she had offered a shoulder to cry on. Now she was going to be the good daughter and try to cheer up her father. It surprised her that he was so upset about not getting to meet this woman, Kathy. When Paula had first told him about the competition, he had been against it. Now, he was upset it wouldn't be going ahead. Another winner could be selected but her dad didn't want another winner; he wanted this winner.

As Alexis rounded the corner, she saw a cab pull up in front of her building and her grandmother stepped out. The older woman was carrying several grocery bags, so Alexis hurried over to help her.

"Hey, Grams, what's all this? Are you cooking tonight?"

Martha smiled at her granddaughter. "I got ingredients for build-your-own pizzas"

Alexis looked into the bags and saw the pizza crusts and a few other core ingredients.

"Dad's favorite."

Martha nodded as the pair entered the building.

"I thought I should do something to cheer him up in case his date with Kathy didn't go too well."

Alexis frowned. "Kathy didn't want to meet him. Didn't Dad tell you?"

"He did, but then she changed her mind a few hours later. They were supposed to meet a few hours ago at a cafe."

Alexis was surprised. The last she had heard, Kathy didn't want to meet her father. Paula had said she would give the winner until the end of the week to change her mind, although she had seemed sure Kathy wouldn't. At least, that was what her father told her.

Opening the door to the loft, Alexis was taken by complete surprise when she heard laughter—loud, billowy laughter of both a man and a woman. Alexis quickly deposited the bags her grandmother had brought in the kitchen and hurried over to her father's study. He hadn't brought the woman home with him, had he? She was going to have to have another conversation with him about safety.

The laughter started up again.

"My dad loves this movie, and I knew you'd love it too."

Alexis frowned. She knew that voice but couldn't place it.

"I can't believe I've never seen this movie before. And I am _not_ the Robin Williams character."

"You _so_ are, Castle."

Alexis's eyes narrowed. There was only one female she knew who called her father Castle. Beckett. Alexis walked into her father's office and was shocked by what she saw. Her father and Beckett were sitting quite close together on the couch, watching a movie on the big screen.

"I could see you getting into all sorts of trouble with an RV," Beckett said, then picked up some popcorn from a bowl and threw it at Castle.

"Hey," Castle warned her. "We have a strict rule in this household. We don't waste popcorn. If you throw it, you have to eat it where it lands."

Castle waggled his eyebrows as he looked down at where the popcorn had fallen. Beckett followed his gaze, and her eyes widened when she saw where the popcorn had landed—right on Castle's groin. Her expressed then turned to one of anger as she looked up at Castle.

"Is that why you've been throwing popcorn at my chest all afternoon?"

Castle threw back his head and laughed, but it was only brief as his mouth was suddenly filled with popcorn.

"Who's laughing now, Castle?" Beckett asked smartly.

"Umm, hi," Alexis said, confused at the scene she just witnessed.

"Hi, pumpkin. I didn't realize you were home. Let me just pause this movie; I don't want to miss anything."

Castle picked up the remote from the floor and paused the movie.

"Castle, we've already watched this movie once today," Beckett complained. "We're only watching it again because you missed half the stuff because you were laughing too hard."

"Exactly," Castle told her. "I missed half the stuff. I don't want to miss it again."

"What happened to your date?" Alexis asked her father. "Gram said she changed her mind."

"I said what?" Martha asked, as she walked into the room. "Oh, hello, Kate. I didn't realize it was you who was here."

"Hi, Martha, Alexis," Beckett greeted the pair.

"Did you go with Dad on his date?" Alexis asked the detective. "Because she sounds like a crazy person if she says no to the date and then changes her mind."

Castle stood up from the couch. "Now, Alexis, that's being a bit harsh. You don't even know her."

Alexis frowned. "And what, you do after meeting her for an hour at a cafe?" Alexis rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Detective Beckett, please tell me you at least did a background check on this woman before he went out with her."

Beckett shook her head. "No, I didn't, but I was going to talk to your father about that. I agree it wasn't safe."

Beckett bit her lip as she stood up next to Castle. Alexis was worried that her father had been out with a crazy person. Beckett felt guilty for worrying his family because of her own insecurities. She needed to put them at ease.

"But in this case it turned out okay."

"Beckett?" Castle questioned.

"Martha, Alexis, I am Kathy."

Alexis narrowed her eyes at her. "Excuse me?"

"I am Kathy Kett. My entry was the one that won."

Martha's face lit up with joy. "Oh my, isn't that wonderful! Even with a disguised name, Richard was able to find you. It must be fate. I didn't need to buy ingredients for build-your-own pizza after all."

"We're making build-your-own pizza?" Castle asked, surprised.

"I thought you might need some cheering up. I'll go start setting everything up."

"Wait, no, Gram," Alexis said, frowning as her grandmother left the room. This wasn't a good thing. This wasn't wonderful. "Was this some kind of joke at Dad's expense?"

Beckett took a step towards Alexis. "No, Alexis, it was never a joke."

"Then why would you enter?"

Beckett sighed. "It was late; I was tired—probably a little bit drunk on too much wine and not enough food."

"So you were drunk? That's why you wrote about Dad saving you?"

"Not drunk,"—Beckett shook her head—"but enough alcohol in me to let my guard down. What I wrote in my entry was the truth. I started reading his books just after my mother died. Your father's words—" Beckett bit her lip before taking a deep breath "—His words spoke to me; they got through to me when no one else could."

Alexis stayed silent as she took in what the woman had said. She knew how much Johanna's murder had affected the detective. Kathy Kett's entry talked about falling, drowning. It said that she had been revived because of Richard Castle. There was just one thing that bothered Alexis.

"If Dad did all those things for you, how come you never mentioned it before?"

"Well, that's my fault." Castle took a step closer to his daughter to create a united front with Beckett. "When we first met, I figured out that Beckett was a fan. I didn't realize why, and I teased her about it. I saw her as a professional woman, and it surprised me that she would read my work. My work—that a lot of professionals consider pulp fiction. I may have acted like an ass."

"May have?" Beckett questioned with a raised brow.

Castle sighed. "Okay, so I acted like a huge ass. Beckett didn't feel comfortable telling me because she thought I would gloat."

Alexis nodded. It made sense. Her dad could be a sore winner at times. She did remember her dad gloating at one point that Beckett was a fan of his work. Alexis hadn't really paid much attention to it; a lot of people read her father's books.

"So, why did you change your mind?" Alexis asked.

Beckett's shoulders dropped. "Your father came into the precinct today acting quite weird."

"I wouldn't say weird," Castle told Beckett.

Beckett turned to face him. "Castle, you asked if you were annoying. Tell me that's not weird."

Castle opened his mouth as if to speak, but then he closed it and simply nodded.

Beckett turned back to Alexis "I didn't know _Castle_ had picked me as the winner when Paula called me. I just figured it was picked at random. I didn't want your father to know I had entered the competition. I also didn't think it was fair to the other entrants, considering I get to see him every day. When I found out the reason he was so out of sorts was because of me, I realized my dignity wasn't worth causing my friend pain."

Alexis smiled at Detective Beckett's words. The woman had put her pride second to her father's feelings. Was there any woman apart from herself and her grandmother who had ever put her father's feelings first? Not that she knew of.

"So you talked it over?"

Castle placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"We did."

Alexis looked between her father and the woman who had made him extremely happy and sad all in the same day.

"Okay then. I better help Grams get dinner prepared. Glad you're feeling better, Dad."

Castle watched as his daughter left, then turned to look at Beckett.

"Sorry about that. You didn't need to tell them the truth."

Beckett shrugged. "It's fine, Castle. They're your family and they care about you."

Castle smiled at her. "Yeah, they do. Did you hear my mother got the ingredients for build-your-own pizza?" Castle's eyes lit up as if it were Christmas.

Beckett smiled at his delight over the idea of making his own pizza. It was just pizza, but she had a feeling it was much more. Building your own pizza was a way of creating something that was uniquely yours.

"Sounds nice."

"You want to stay?"

Beckett shook her head. "No, I should go. The date was only meant to be for a few hours. I've been here most of the afternoon."

Castle's mouth twitched. "Except it wasn't a real date."

Beckett bit her lip and shook her head. "Of course. You know what I mean."

"Yeah,"—Castle nodded—"but you could still stay. You can build your own pizza, and we can watch the rest of _RV_. You know you want to see Robin Williams covered fecal matter again."

Beckett closed her eyes and winced. "Pizza first, movie later. I'm not sure if I could eat after watching that scene again."

"Deal. Come on."

Beckett followed Castle back out into the loft and over to the kitchen.

"Detective, I am assuming by your lack of footwear that you will be staying for dinner?" Castle's mother asked her.

Beckett looked down at her feet. Her mismatched socks she had bought on 5th Avenue stood out brightly against her dark denim jeans. Castle had insisted she take her shoes off when they decided to hang out on the couch in his study. She had thrown caution to the wind and removed her shoes, but her feet were cold so she had taken the socks from her bag. Castle had laughed at her, but thought the socks were awesome.

Beckett smiled up at Martha, who had not said a thing about her unusual footwear—just the lack of it.

"Yes. If that's okay."

Martha nodded. "The more the merrier."

Beckett looked at the kitchen counter covered with numerous bowls, filled with different meats and vegetables.

"Richard, the oven is on, and Alexis and I have already started making our first one. Do you want to get started?"

Castle nodded and made his way around the counter and washed his hands. He then grabbed two saucer-sized pizza crusts and placed them on an oven tray.

"Do you want to build your own?" he asked her. "Or I can build it for you. Just tell me what you want on it. Or I can pick for you?"

Beckett looked at the vast array of toppings.

"Just don't let Dad put anything weird on it," Alexis told her.

Beckett looked at the pizza Alexis was creating: big, fat, juicy black olives; large, round, white slices of _Bocconcini_ cheese; and artichokes. Beckett bit her lip at the sight of the very European-inspired pizza—and Alexis was worried that Castle would put weird things on her pizza.

"You know what? I am throwing caution to the wind today, Castle. Go for it."

Castle threw her a smile that took her breath away.

"Sure."

Beckett watched as Castle starting spinning his magic. He grabbed the bowl that contained the tomato sauce and expertly swirled the sauce on the pizza crust. He tapped his chin with his finger, thinking, before scooping up another bowl. Castle completely covered the crusts with mushrooms and then bypassed all the other meats and vegetables on the counter. He reached for the many spice jars and began sprinkling various unknown items over the pizza.

"Garlic, oregano and parsley," he told her.

"I didn't ask?" Beckett replied.

Castle nodded. "I know." He then reached for the biggest pile of cheese she had ever seen, and began to cover both crusts.

After he cleaned up some of the spilled ingredients that had landed on the oven tray, Castle placed the pizza in the oven.

"So," he said, clapping his hands together, "what should we put on our second one?"

Beckett frowned. "Second one?"

Castle scoffed. "Yeah, they're small and that's the point. We get to eat lots of different types. I'm thinking fresh tomato, Boccioni, and basil leaves for our next one; then maybe a salami and prosciutto for our third."

Three pizzas? He expected her to eat three pizzas. He was right; they were small. Apart from the popcorn and coffee at the precinct, she hadn't really eaten that day. Maybe three small pizzas were what she needed.

"Okay, whatever you say."

Castle smiled at her. That was the smile that had changed her life; the smile that had brought her out of her misery; the smile that meant that Castle was no longer miserable.

"Can I get that in writing? Or wait—can you say that again, and I'll record it on my phone?"

Beckett rolled her eyes, and there was the cocky Castle.

"Less talk, more cooking, Castle."

* * *

Beckett stifled a yawn.

"Sorry, Castle, it's been a long day. I should probably go home."

Castle stood up from the couch they were both sitting on and stretched his back.

"Sorry for keeping you here so long, Beckett."

Beckett shrugged as she pulled off her socks and grabbed her shoes.

"I wasn't expecting to have the day off, Castle, so I had no plans."

"I know. I still cant believe you took the day off and spent it with me."

Beckett smiled as she piled her things into her bag.

"Well, we had a date, Castle."

Castle smiled. "Well technically, it wasn't a date."

Beckett bit her lip as she walked out of Castle's study and towards the door. Their date—that wasn't a date—had continued on until 11:30. While their numerous pizzas had been cooking, Castle had dragged her back into the study. She had assumed it was to continue watching _RV_, but it wasn't. Castle had sat down and showed her all the other entries for the Win a Date—that wasn't a date—With Richard Castle contest. She couldn't believe how many entries he had gone through, and that had just been the short list. There were a few entries in Castle's runner up list that he could have chosen as the winner. There was something satisfying about Castle picking her own entry. There were many that complemented him; quite a few that were very well written. Yet he had chosen hers because her entry made him feel like he made a difference. And he had. This date—that wasn't date—was to say thank you for the difference he made in her life.

"Well, it did have all the makings of a date," Beckett told him as she stopped at his front door.

Castle frowned at her. "How so?"

Beckett licked her lips and smiled. "Well, there was a movie and popcorn."

Castle smiled and nodded. "Typical date scenario. And then there was dinner."

Beckett nodded. "You even made dinner for me. I don't think I've ever had a date make dinner for me."

Castle shrugged. "Well I am a good host."

Beckett laughed. Yes, he was. "And tonight was a lot of fun."

Castle nodded. "I always prefer it that way, but not necessarily a requirement for a date."

Beckett bit her lip. "Except it wasn't a date."

Castle shook his head. "No, it wasn't."

Beckett nodded. "Because dates usually end with a kiss."

Castle's eyes narrowed. "Yes, good ones normally do."

Beckett took a deep breath as Castle took a step towards her.

"Except this wasn't a date," Castle told her.

Beckett tore her eyes away from him.

"Right. Well I'd better be going."

"Right."

Castle opened the door and watched as the extraordinary woman left. He shut the door and leant against it. It had been an interesting day.

First his date didn't want to meet him; then she did. His date turned out to be Beckett, but it wasn't a date anyway. She was right though, it did have elements of one. Her movie choice had been surprising, but he had loved it. _RV_, aka _Runaway Vacation_, had somehow slipped through the gaps of his viewing repertoire. He was already thinking of watching the movie again while he tried to sleep. Yes, he had already watched it twice, but the movie was just so funny. After the first time watching it, he had sat with Beckett and talked more about his books, his words, and then her words. After the talk, they needed something light and funny, so he had pressed play on the movie again, and Beckett didn't mind. He kept being surprised by the woman.

Castle's phone beeped, and he quickly scrambled to get it out of his pocket. He frowned when he saw it was a message from Detective Beckett. He opened the message, and his eyes widened at her words once again.

_But it could have been_

But it could have been. What could have been? He thought about the last few sentences they had spoken.

It wasn't a date?

But it could have been.

Castle looked at the phone. Should he text her? He turned around and looked at the door. Should he go after her? He opened the door and tried to take a step out, but his way was blocked.

Beckett was standing in his way, biting her lip, looking nervous.

It wasn't a date. The reason it wasn't a date was because there wasn't a kiss. At least that's what Beckett had said. But it could have been.

He went to reach for her but then realized he still had his phone in his hand. Shoving the phone in his pocket he winced with embarrassment. Oh that was a great start. He looked up at Beckett apologetically, but she just rolled her eyes and shook her head. Then she did the most surprising thing of the night. She took a step forward, wrapped an arm around his neck, and pressed her lips to his. Castle didn't even have a chance to respond before suddenly, she was stepping away from him.

"I think it can officially be called a date now," she told him as she walked backwards down the hall, before turning her back on him.

Castle stood there shocked. Beckett had just kissed him. She had just said their date, that wasn't a date, was—in fact—a date. He had somehow managed to go on a date with Beckett. It had been the most amazing, fun first date of his life. Castle smiled. Their first date was over with, and it had gone well.

"Beckett."

She stopped and looked back at him.

"Mother is putting on this production at her school. Would you like to go with me?"

Beckett smiled. "Go with you."

Castle nodded. "Yes, go with me—like a date. Our second date."

Beckett bit her lip. "I'd like that."

Beckett then turned and continued her way down the hall. She had won more than a date with Richard Castle; she had won an opportunity to experience all life had to offer. Thanks to a book, a smile and a truly amazing man.

The end

* * *

And we are done.

Thank you for all the alerts and review. I was actually thinking of not writing this story because I didn't think it would be long enough to do it justice. But I wrote Beckett's entry first and couldn't get it out of my head. So this was the result. I hope you enjoyed it.

I am working on a longish story but want most of it written before I post as i am having some issues with it. Not sure its up to par. So I am going to work on it in the background and continue writing medium to short ones. Been rolling the same ideas over and over in my head, have a few ideas so look out for more of my work soon. But if you have any requests feel free to PM me.

Please review. I am saving them to read after tomorrows ep .AHHHHHHHHHH


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